Jacob Dobres
ATTORNEY
614 727 2901
jdobres@poling-law.com
Mr. Dobres practices in the area of workers’ compensation defense, general employment, and labor law. He represents state-funded and self-insured employers in administrative hearings and in court.
Mr. Dobres brings a unique perspective to his workers’ compensation defense practice. He previously served as an Assistant Ohio Attorney General, representing the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and Industrial Commission of Ohio. He has also represented injured workers. Since 2007, Mr. Dobres has exclusively represented employers. He has extensive experience advising clients regarding best practices for claim management from inception through resolution.
Mr. Dobres has first-chair trial experience. A skilled legal writer, he has authored over 20 briefs in the Supreme Court of Ohio. He has appeared before courts of common pleas and courts of appeals throughout the state. Mr. Dobres is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars. An avid cyclist and hockey enthusiast, Mr. Dobres can often be found on his bicycle or watching, playing, or coaching ice hockey.
EDUCATION
- 1995 Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, summa cum laude – The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- 1999 J.D. – The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Columbus, OH
LICENSURE
- Ohio
RESULTS
- December 2019: Jacob Dobres successfully defended a claimed Violation of a Specific Safety Regulation before the Industrial Commission of Ohio. The injured worker alleged that his injury resulted from his employer failing to provide required personal protective equipment and failing to equip a motor vehicle with a required audible warning device and/or a spotter. As held by the Industrial Commission: “The Employer complied with the cited safety requirements. The Injured Worker’s work injury was not caused by any violation of any cited safety requirement.”
- March 2019: Jacob Dobres successfully defended a claimed Violation of a Specific Safety Regulation before the Industrial Commission of Ohio. The injured worker, a maintenance technician for a packaging manufacturer, sustained a significant crush injury to his hand when a blow-mold machine cycled on as he performed maintenance. Mr. Dobres argued that the safety provisions alleged by the injured worker to have been violated did not apply to the type of machine that was involved in the workplace injury and that safety regulations must be “strictly construed” in favor of the employer. Additionally, Mr. Dobres argued that controlling case authority held that a “one-time failure of an otherwise complaint safety system” resulting in an injury is not a violation of a specific safety requirement under Ohio workers’ compensation law.
- August 2017: Jacob Dobres obtained the dismissal of a putative workers’ appeal brought in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas on the grounds that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. Mr. Dobres established that the Plaintiff had not satisfied the statutory mandates set forth in R.C. 4123.512 which require that an appealing party file a Notice of Appeal within 60 days of receipt of a final Order of the Industrial Commission and which further require the Plaintiff to then file a separate Complaint. On appeal to the Ninth Appellate District, the court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal in favor of Mr. Dobres’ client.